Metro

World Trade Center rising

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One World Trade Center reached 90th floor this week. The building is on track to be completed by 2013 with construction workers approximately finishing a floor a week. PANYNJ.GOV
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Looking east from the 77th floor as construction work carries on below. PANYNJ.GOV
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The eight-acre plaza features a small forest of oak trees (lower left) and a museum to teach visitors about the events of September 11. PANYNJ.GOV
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One World Trade Center, from the 80th floor looking North, is due for completion in 2013 and will be the city’s tallest building. PANYNJ.GOV
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Looking east from the 80th floor as construction work carries on below. PANYNJ.GOV
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Looking West from the 80th floor, the fog rolls out across downtown Manhattan. PANYNJ.GOV
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The fog rolls out across downtown Manhattan, captured from the 80th floor of One World Trade Center. PANYNJ.GOV
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The view from a scafolding on the 80th floor. PANYNJ.GOV
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Deep in the bowels of the most closely watched construction site in the nation there is a phrase that is forbidden: Ground Zero. Those words describe a lifeless pit filled with rubble and despair. What steel worker Earmon Maguire is working on is a living, breathing monument of hope, the colossal construction of a brand new day. Here, columns of glass and metal rise at all hours. Concrete is being poured in every corner. Each rivet that is fastened, each tile that is polished is a source of special pride Matthew McDermott
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“A neighbor of mine died in 9/11,” said Maguire, 27, of Brooklyn. “A lot of guys in the neighborhood died. People around the neighborhood know that I’m working here, rebuilding.” Matthew McDermott
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Maguire is one of nearly 3,200 workers at the colossal construction site, each pulling 10-hour shifts six, sometimes seven, days a week. At night, the population drops to double or triple digits, but the work does not stop. Matthew McDermott
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Most days, master welder Richard Alexander Graham can be found lighting his torch in the hot and sticky tunnels of the World Trade Center’s new transportation hub. Matthew McDermott
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Troy Stremming, 41, from Maryland, with his team. Matthew McDermott
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The cleanup after the attacks took nine months alone. But instead of office buildings, delays and costs were the only things rising. Then, after years of planning, false starts and disagreements, above-ground rebuilding began in April 2006. Matthew McDermott
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Workers have completed Tower 7 and a memorial to 9/11 victims. Below, construction is moving along on the museum. The project’s crown jewel, 1 World Trade Center, has risen to 80 stories, with 3.1 million square feet of office space already built. Matthew McDermott
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Eleven subway lines plus the PATH train pass near the site. “It’s the most iconic, the most important piece of construction ever done,” says Port Authority Chairman David Samson. One of the perks of working construction on the most important project is the view from its main attraction. Matthew McDermott
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Steel workers unloading steel beams are seen at the construction site of the new World Trade Center. Matthew McDermott
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Hardhats working on 1 World Trade Center step off the construction elevator at the 64th-floor sky lobby and are thrown back in time: The sun is setting over New Jersey, the Empire State Building rises in the distance and the Statue of Liberty is keeping watch over the harbor. It’s a vantage point that evaporated on 9/11 and hasn’t been seen for 10 years. Matthew McDermott
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The new tower already scrapes the sky as construction continues. The phrase “Never Forget” and an American flag remind workers and onlookers of where this area has come from over the past 10 years. Matthew McDermott
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“A year ago, I was working for my brother, but his business went down,” said Stephen Lee, 53, of Smithtown, LI, who also worked the pile after 9/11. “I was delighted to come here. I think all the 9/11 stuff is overdone already, but I’m lucky. This is probably the biggest job that I’ll ever be on in the city.” Matthew McDermott
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There is nearly 3,200 workers at the colossal construction site, each pulling 10-hour shifts six, sometimes seven, days a week. At night, the population drops to double or triple digits, but the work does not stop. Matthew McDermott
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The 64th floor of 1 World Trade Center offers stunning views of downtown and the reflecting pools. Matthew McDermott